“Coutinho and Lucas added intensity and purpose to our game. It was a difficult game and you have to give Oldham a lot of credit for making it that way. We were nowhere near the speed of our game and in the second half we were a lot better.”

Suárez played for the last 13 minutes, Rodgers saying it was essential he had a break.

“You hope to rest some players and give them a recovery period because they’ve had hard games.”

Oldham manager Lee Johnson said the personnel changes were a reflection of how well his side acquitted itself.

“I took it as a compliment, not just when Suárez came on but also when he brought on Lucas and Coutinho,” said Johnson. “He felt he had to bring them on. They average three goals a game at home, so it’s no disgrace for us.

“For a 20-minute period you might not have known which was the Premier League side and I thought we should have had a penalty when Gary Harkins felt a nudge in his back jumping for a header.”

For Rodgers, it was a particularly satisfying afternoon because his son, Anton, made an appearance as an 84th-minute substitute.

“It was a bit surreal to see him out there,” said the Liverpool manager. “We’re very proud of him and it was nice for him to get a round of applause from the Liverpool supporters."